How to Recognize Signs of a Heart Attack

By eHow Health Editor

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These guidelines are based on the recommendations of the American Heart Association.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Note any crushing pain, pressure or squeezing in the center of your chest that lasts for more than a few minutes.

Step2

Be alert to pain that spreads to the jaw, neck, shoulder or arms (often the left arm).

Step3

Note any nausea, sweating, dizziness, or shortness of breath in combination with chest pain.

Step4

Look for any combination of the symptoms listed above.

Step5

Keep track of one or more of the above warning signs subsiding, and then returning.

Tips & Warnings

All the signs need not occur together in every heart attack.
Seek medical attention immediately if you experience any symptoms of a heart attack.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 9/9/2006 in the area of right under your sternum, almost at your diaphragm, dullness and weight increasing with left arm weakness, still functional but weak, a rasping gasping intake trying to breathe, nausea and sweating afterward,
and tired!

Anonymous said

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on 7/17/2006 I experienced a severe and sudden crushing pain in the chest region and it lead to my left hand. I was sweating heavily and felt like throwing up. The pain lasted for 5 minutes, then went away and then returned again. The pain is crushing and subsides for a few minutes, and then returns.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 We learned that a sharp pain in the shoulder accompanied by profuse sweating can be a heart attack. Go directly to the hospital, take first steps in treating for a heart attack; it may not be a pinched nerve!

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 I had a mild heart attack that started with a sharp, stabbing pain right in my back. It started after climbing a flight of stairs. Not all heart attacks have the common symptoms.